ECONOMIE(S) OF THE SEA

January 2016

Nazaré’s once thriving artisanal fishing industry has diminished greatly in recent years, due to industrialisation and overfishing. It was once a major producer of Bacalhau, a delicacy of Cod fish, doused in salt and dried under the sun. The village gained new life when it hit headlines as a surfers’ paradise, for its monster waves. It is now capitalising on this new found popularity, re-branding itself as a surfers’ paradise.

‘Economies of the Sea’ proposes a new cliff-scape, in conversation with sea, sun and wind. It acts as an extension of the village boardwalk, winding itself towards the surfers’ waves at the cliff head. It draws from synergetic and systemic design strategies, overlaying two formerly alien economies and cultures.Generated through seasonal occupation, facilities for both fishing and surfing are side by side, simultaneously at times, kick starting economic growth, providing stable and sustainable jobs.

Towers along the length of the board walk act as a catalyst for the growth of a skeletal crystalline framework mimicking the formations of salt crystals on Bacalhau. Fibrous biomorphic skins are stretched within these forms, attracting crystallized salt deposits, forming resilient shimmering membranes.